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2011-10-04 Science & Technology
Austin Price of CALPIRG sez Gov't cheese leads to obesity
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Posted by Besoeker 2011-10-04 05:39|| || Front Page|| [11129 views ]  Top

#1 Anyone else notice Subsidised people seem to be fatter than the people who work?
Posted by Bright Pebbles 2011-10-04 06:04||   2011-10-04 06:04|| Front Page Top

#2 But not because we are giving food to the needy -
So how do tax dollars end up supporting junk food? Subsidies largely focus on three top crops (wheat, corn, and soybeans) and reward the farmers that grow them, keeping prices low for consumers

It's farm subsidies that are making all of us fat. Except me - I have big bones. Especially my belly bone.
Posted by Bobby 2011-10-04 06:52||   2011-10-04 06:52|| Front Page Top

#3 Poor people tend to obesity because carbs and fats are a lot cheaper than protein. And despite the demands of the health nuts, and decades of coercion trying to change their diets, they still reject fruits and vegetables.

They load children's free lunches with that stuff, and they dump it and either eat nothing, or junk food they bring from home. Been that way since the 1960s or even earlier.

And the health freaks have zero pattern recognition, so keep at it, generation after generation.
Posted by Anonymoose 2011-10-04 08:16||   2011-10-04 08:16|| Front Page Top

#4 Typical nanny state PC BS. Half the "obesity" epidemic was managed by a simple change to the definition of obese.

Those supposedly horrible height weight charts of the old days that at least took some account of body type were replaced by a stupidly simple but science sounding jargon called BMI. BMI has two variables height and weight, everything else is crap of the AGW model variety. Change a few hidden numbers and hey presto everyone is fat.
Posted by AlanC 2011-10-04 09:10||   2011-10-04 09:10|| Front Page Top

#5 Before the 90s, most height/weight calculations relied upon those generated by the insurance industry which had a vested interest in the gamble on life insurance. In the 90s the government got involved and the usual suspects trying to extend their rationale for existence, used a much smaller sample than the insurance industry had employed for generations to create the new charts. Immediately, Michael Jordan in his prime met the classification as overweight.
Posted by Procopius2k 2011-10-04 10:00||   2011-10-04 10:00|| Front Page Top

#6 It's not the food. It's the lack of exercise. People ate terribly greasy foods a hundred years ago but they also worked sunup to sundown and were terribly skinny by today's standards. Today, people play football ... on their Xboxes.

BMI is a sham. As a young weight lifter I would have been classified as near obese even though I was also a long distance runner. And I loved pizza and relied on candy bars for extra calories.
Posted by Eohippus Phater7165 2011-10-04 10:25||   2011-10-04 10:25|| Front Page Top

#7 
Half the "obesity" epidemic was managed by a simple change to the definition of obese.


Hey, they saw what changing the definitions did for the "poverty" industry...
Posted by Rob Crawford 2011-10-04 12:03||   2011-10-04 12:03|| Front Page Top

#8 RC Yep.

My wife does have a weight problem. Long ago I watched a show by Covert Bailey about % of body fat being the best indicator of HEALTHY weight. What he said made a lot of sense and he pointed out that he was hired by the San Diego Chargers football team to help several of their players lose weight.

When he tested them they were all under 10% body fat and one was at 2%. The fact is that the rules as preached then and now don't work for individuals. If they did every family would have 2.5 children.......and they'd classify that 1/2 kid as overweight.

All of the MDs I have talked to agree quietly that BMI is a total crock.
Posted by AlanC 2011-10-04 12:49||   2011-10-04 12:49|| Front Page Top

#9 Under BMI - Arnold Schwarzenegger - at the peak of his bodybuilding days - would have been classified as obese.

Except me - I have big bones. Especially my belly bone.

Damn belly bone strikes again!
Posted by CrazyFool 2011-10-04 13:11||   2011-10-04 13:11|| Front Page Top

#10  When I look at group pictures of average Americans of all ages, races & social classes, in history books, newspapers, archives, or family collections, the massive increase of body size is quite obvious. Americans have been known to eat well, on the average, since the 1700's. There have always been some massively obese people, but very very few until the last few decades.
Modern medicine really does not know and cannot explain the obvious increase in body mass for average Americans over the last 60 years.
If the causes are ever well proven, I suspect genetics, increased food intake and decreased exercise will NOT be the major factors.
Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-10-04 15:47||   2011-10-04 15:47|| Front Page Top

#11 Been that way since the 1960s or even earlier. I was around then. There were very few massively obese people in that era.
Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-10-04 15:48||   2011-10-04 15:48|| Front Page Top

#12 When he tested them they were all under 10% body fat and one was at 2%.
I suspect Covert Bailey did not test his subjects on their prior use of anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, insulin, etc., which together promote increased muscle mass while lowering BMI.
Just look at the body weight statistics of pro football players over the last 70 years or so, the trend of massive increase in weight is rather obvious. I doubt increased exercise or decreased food intake has anything to do with THAT.
Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-10-04 15:54||   2011-10-04 15:54|| Front Page Top

#13 while lowering BMI. while lowering body fat ratios.
Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-10-04 15:55||   2011-10-04 15:55|| Front Page Top

#14 All of the MDs I have talked to agree quietly that BMI is a total crock. You never talked to THIS MD. BMI is useful to estimate body fat ratios, nutrition, and especially trends to body composition over the decades. On the other hand, finagling with BMI statistics to constantly increase the percentage of Americans defined as overweight is simply lying, but you don't need an MD degree or advice from an MD to see that.
Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-10-04 15:58||   2011-10-04 15:58|| Front Page Top

#15 "Been that way since the 1960s or even earlier. I was around then. There were very few massively obese people in that era."

I agree, the women of my mother's era were all very slim. I really don't remember any fat moms around....but then, I don't remember going to county fairs and having people trying to eat the most high-fat, high calorie, deep fried chunk of whatever, as a national pasttime either.
Posted by Jeque Hupairong2828 2011-10-04 16:05||   2011-10-04 16:05|| Front Page Top

#16 I went to county fairs in that era also. They were selling fatty crap foods similar to what they sell nowadays, but the people (on the average) attending the fairs were all much thinner. The variety of such stuff has definitely increased, but I think that's due to increased customer demand.
Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-10-04 16:12||   2011-10-04 16:12|| Front Page Top

#17 I suspect epigenetics, environmental toxins and/or long term infections will turn out to be important factors in the obesity epidemic, but that's just my SWAG.
Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-10-04 16:16||   2011-10-04 16:16|| Front Page Top

#18 High-fructose corn syrup.
Posted by Barbara 2011-10-04 16:23||   2011-10-04 16:23|| Front Page Top

#19 High-fructose corn syrup Evidence?
Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-10-04 17:05||   2011-10-04 17:05|| Front Page Top

#20 High-fructose corn syrup Pardon me for doubting that a high-fructose-corn-syrup-free diet would relieve anyone's obesity, no matter how long the diet might be followed.
Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-10-04 17:09||   2011-10-04 17:09|| Front Page Top

#21 We seemed to start getting fatter in the early 1970's. High-fructose corn syrup got invented and started being widely used in convenience foods (apparently it's cheaper than sugar) about the same time.

Yes, I know correlation is not causation. I also know we eat far too much outside of mealtime, and also at meals.

That being said, I do my best to avoid foods made with high-fructose corn syrup and/or hydrogenated fats. I'm not a "natural" nut, but why go for fake when real will do?
Posted by Barbara 2011-10-04 18:00||   2011-10-04 18:00|| Front Page Top

#22 My own guess would be posture. More time sitting than standing.
Posted by Bright Pebbles 2011-10-04 18:19||   2011-10-04 18:19|| Front Page Top

#23 There have been sedentary occupations for centuries, and, yes, sedentary people have tended to weigh more than more-active people. Always correct the denominator of any sample. The increase in sedentary occupations, IMO, still doesn't explain the remarkable gains of body weight / size in the last few decades. High school drum majorettes and receptionists alike have been ballooning out.
Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-10-04 18:42||   2011-10-04 18:42|| Front Page Top

#24 I blame Wal-Mart. Was there last night and EVERYBODY was fat.
Posted by Glenmore 2011-10-04 19:04||   2011-10-04 19:04|| Front Page Top

#25 I've been making night visits to Wally World for over 25 years. Way back then, most of the customers were skinny compared to nowadays, however weird they might otherwise look.
Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-10-04 22:22||   2011-10-04 22:22|| Front Page Top

22:54 rjschwarz
22:31 Anguper Hupomosing9418
22:22 Anguper Hupomosing9418
22:16 gorb
21:58 Procopius2k
21:54 Procopius2k
21:31 SteveS
21:11 Barbara
21:07 Sping Panda9115
20:58 Barbara
20:32 newc
20:26 Lord Garth
20:16 Bright Pebbles
19:43 Thing From Snowy Mountain
19:10 Glenmore
19:07 Glenmore
19:04 Glenmore
18:54 SteveS
18:49 SteveS
18:44 Glenmore
18:42 Anguper Hupomosing9418
18:36 Anguper Hupomosing9418
18:19 Bright Pebbles
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